Traveling Through Those Years Of Farming (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 5

The village of Sandangkou, where the Lu family lives, is blessed with a unique geographical location. It is surrounded on three sides by the continuous Xiaoyang Mountain, which provides ample resources. The villagers need only be diligent and hardworking; even without farmland, they won’t starve thanks to the mountain.

The remaining side of the village is adjacent to a main road, which is also related to the origin of the village’s name. 

Legend has it that there were no settlements at the foot of Xiaoyang Mountain because the founding emperor of the Li Dynasty built a national road there. Since this road was quite long, some people saw an opportunity and built several stalls along the road to cater to traveling merchants. Initially, there were three stalls: a tea stall, a food shop, and a carriage repair workshop.

As these stalls become successful, more small traders begin to gather, gradually increasing the area’s popularity. Many people displaced by wars start settling here, leading to the establishment of Sandangkou Village.

Today, there is still a long row of shops at the entrance of Sandangkou Village. The Lu family’s meat stall is situated near the main road. Besides local villagers coming to buy meat, traveling merchants also purchase fresh meat to replenish their supplies, making it one of the Lu family’s significant sources of income.

The Lu family is located on the east side of the village, while the tenderest pigweed is found on the west side, where there is flowing water. Thus, Lu Xiuyu has to take her two younger sisters across most of the village. Their route happens to pass through the most bustling area of stalls in the village.

Most villagers have just finished their breakfast, but the shops along the main road are mostly open. Many of them are tea stalls and food shops. Lu Baobao sees several aunts and old women selling local snacks in baskets.

She remembers that when she was two or three years old, her aunt also ran a similar business. Unfortunately, the competition on the main road was too fierce. Since there were limited traveling merchants each day, and unless the food was outstanding, the neighboring villagers wouldn’t spend their money. Therefore, her aunt only lasted a few days before the old lady prohibited her from continuing, arguing that the food she made every day could not be sold and wasting food was unacceptable.

Now, at the village entrance, besides a few well-established stalls with regular customers, the other vendors come and go, making it rare to see familiar faces.

Lu Baobao’s gaze sweeps around before landing on Tang Ji Sweet Soup Shop. She can’t help but swallow her saliva a few times.

The Tang family isn’t from Sandangkou Village, but they have been doing business here for generations. They also have branches in the county and several towns. Their unique method of preserving fresh fruit has kept their business thriving from generation to generation.

Lu Baobao’s favorite is their peach honey water. For two coins, she gets a small bowl of sweet soup with a piece of yellow peach the size of a copper coin. The taste is similar to modern canned fruit, but it’s more naturally sweet and fresh than the canned fruit she remembers.

Old Butcher Lu may appear fierce, but he is actually very fond of the children in the family. Whenever a big client comes to the meat stall, he buys ten coins’ worth of sweet soup from the neighboring shop and brings it home to share with the kids. This is the happiest time for the younger generations of the Lu family.

Unfortunately, with the hot weather a few months ago, fresh meat was difficult to store, so there were rarely large purchases of pork or lamb. Lu Baobao hasn’t had the delightful peach honey water for a long time. She hadn’t thought much about it before, but now, seeing the Tang family’s sweet soup shop sign fluttering, her cravings are instantly aroused.

She wants to eat it!

Lu Baobao swallows and turns her attention to her father’s private savings. She knows where her father keeps his little stash because, being young, adults rarely hide things from her. Recently, she has secretly sneaked a look at how much money her father has hidden away, and it’s only a few dozen copper coins. Asking her father for two coins as “hush money” doesn’t seem too much to ask.

“Ah-choo—”

Far away in the fields, Lu Jiafu sneezes.

Summer has passed, and the weather is starting to cool down. Could he have caught a cold? Lu Jiafu adjusts his collar; the thin cotton jacket seems to let in a draft.

Lu Xiuyu is also examining the row of stalls. Unlike Lu Baobao, who is just hungry, she sees each shop as a potential business opportunity. She has been observing the stalls for a long time, analyzing which type of business is the most profitable, what the customers prefer, and has roughly figured it all out in a few days.

In modern times, Lu Xiuyu would have dozens of ways to capture a part of the market in this area, but in this feudal era, her identity and age limit many of her ideas.

Determining what to do, how to do it, and how to gain the support of her family is what Lu Xiuyu needs to focus on the most.

Fortunately, the restrictions on women in this era are not as severe as in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Business for women is quite common, especially in Sandangkou. Men work in the fields while women sell food and tea near the main road. It’s a common sight. In families with few men, women also work in the fields, and the task of selling is often given to the slightly older children in the family.

All of this is beneficial for Lu Xiuyu.

“Elder cousin, haven’t we reached our destination yet?”

After nearly a quarter of an hour of walking, the pain in her feet is a minor issue. What Lu Baobao can’t stand the most is the bamboo basket on her shoulders. It feels as though the skin on both sides of her shoulders is about to be rubbed raw.

Everyone envies her fair and delicate skin, but having delicate skin has its downsides, such as being more prone to sunburn and abrasions. According to her mother, she used to cry incessantly as a child because her skin couldn’t handle the rough cotton and linen fabrics, often becoming red and swollen. During that time, Xu Jiaoniang gave up her beloved lazy mornings and spent all her time, except for meals and sleep, continuously rubbing and softening the fabric by hand.

Now that she’s older and has a better tolerance for fabrics, Xu Jiaoniang still pays extra attention when making clothes for her. Several of Lu Baobao’s old cotton garments were dismantled, and the fabric was re-sewn into the elbows, armpits, collars, cuffs, and other areas of her new clothes that are prone to rubbing.

Today is her first time gathering pigweed, and Xu Jiaoniang hadn’t anticipated the potential wear and tear from the bamboo basket straps. Thus, she is now enduring this discomfort.

Lu Baobao is somewhat delicate, but she prides herself on having once been an adult, so she’s reluctant to complain in front of the two children. She just wants to reach the destination quickly so she can set down the bamboo basket and ease the strain.

“We’re almost there.”

Lu Xiuyu points to a river not far away. Seeing this water source that runs through the village means they are close to their destination.

A nearly twenty-minute walk carrying a bamboo basket weighing over three or four pounds is quite a challenge for any five or six-year-old. Before setting out, Lu Xiuyu had prepared for several breaks along the way. However, the younger sisters don’t complain at all during the journey, which surprises and pleases Lu Xiuyu.

Of course, these feelings are mostly directed at Lu Baobao. The youngest cousin, Lu Xiuxin, though only five years old, already has a robust physique, bouncing along like she is out for a stroll, showing no signs of fatigue.

On the other hand, the second youngest cousin, though delicate and smaller than average, seems like a bundle of soft cotton. Lu Xiuyu is anxious the entire way, afraid that the bamboo basket might flatten her.

“Are you tired?”

Lu Xiuyu asks with feigned calm. If Lu Baobao says she is tired, she will immediately stop and let her rest for a while. After all, they are almost at their destination. Lu Xiuyu can go ahead and gather some pigweed first, and once Lu Baobao recovers, she can then show her which wild grasses can be used as pig feed.

“I’m a bit tired, but thinking about how you and my younger cousin used to do all this work alone, going back and forth several times a day, makes me feel like I shouldn’t complain,” Lu Baobao says sincerely.

She genuinely admires her older cousin. Before, she hadn’t carried a bamboo basket or experienced the journey herself; she only knew it was hard work but didn’t realize how challenging it is for a child. The return trip with an even heavier basket must be even tougher.

She knows she couldn’t manage it herself; she’d probably end up crying and trying to find a way to avoid this hard work after just one or two tries.

She really respects her older cousin for being so hardworking and resilient, but she still can’t become that kind of person. Lu Baobao thinks to herself, will she really have to cut pigweed several times a day like her older cousin in the future? But if she doesn’t, won’t she end up like her parents and surely be looked down upon later?

The little girl, with her thin skin, begins to think about learning a few skills from her parents when she gets home, starting with how to make her skin thicker.

Lu Xiuyu doesn’t know that Lu Baobao has already made up her mind to back out. Recalling her cousin’s recent words, she feels as refreshed as eating an ice pop on a scorching summer day—so soothing.

A girl so lovely and admiring, asking if you’re tired and affirming your hard work—what more could you ask for in life? Lu Xiuyu feels her cousin is incredibly understanding and sweet. She wants to hug and kiss her right away and shield her from all the hardships in the world.

“The bamboo basket is heavy; let me carry it for you,” Lu Xiuyu says without hesitation, taking the basket from Lu Baobao and holding it in front of herself.

At ten years old, Lu Xiuyu is as strong as the twelve or thirteen-year-olds in the village. Carrying two bamboo baskets is easy for her.

Forget about training and education; she decides to be a doting older cousin. As for training and education, she’ll leave that for when she has her own children in the future.

With a kind smile, she pats Lu Baobao’s head.